8th Grader Java Coding Tutors & Classes

Kids learning to code need a personalized approach to be challenged at the right level and keep learning year-round. They don’t need another one-size-fits-all after-school class!

Breakout Mentors pairs each student with a one-on-one mentor who guides them through creative projects during weekly 90 minute sessions. It goes beyond tutoring – the mentor constantly adjusts the difficulty and introduces new concepts as the student is ready. Students are proud of their personalized games and itching to keep learning.

Each child is carefully matched with a Computer Science student at Stanford, UC Berkeley, or Santa Clara University by personality and interests to ensure the right mentor fit. Kids build a rapport by meeting the same mentor each week, someone who is equally as excited about coding!

Hear From a Student

Java For Kids Learning to Code

Breakout Mentors often starts 8th grader students with Java to learn programming fundamentals – we are currently working with 37 kids in Java across the Bay Area. Java provides a friendly learning environment with graphics to allow your child to explore the extent of their creativity.

The first few sessions students typically use Java to control Karel the Robot. The limited set of commands allows kids to think about problem-solving like a computer scientist and become comfortable with concepts like loops, conditionals, and functions. Next variables and graphics are introduced through fun projects like Random Art.

Kids love making their own versions of games, including the classic Atari game Breakout. Mentors encourage the students to add their own creative features, like after hitting the ball five times the paddle shrinks.

As students progress, mentors are able to introduce more advanced concepts and encourage increasingly complex projects. 8th Graders who work with Breakout Mentors over months and years will eventually move to advanced Computer Science apps and projects.

What Parents Say

Breakout Mentors was exactly what we were looking for when our 11 year old son asked to learn programming. He connected quickly with his mentor, who has taught him things beyond our knowledge. After his last session, he tried to explain to me some aspect of the programming he just learned and then said ‘I feel so proud of myself.’ We are proud of him too and thankful for Breakout Mentors.

Father of 6th grade boy in Palo Alto

Breakout Mentors did a wonderful job matching my daughter with a mentor – she is perfect! My daughter told me that she learned more from one session than her last 3 summer camps combined. She was so excited! Thank you – this is exactly what we were looking for!

Mother of 12 year old girl in Berkeley

We just passed our second anniversary with Breakout Mentors. Our 12-year-old son has had two mentors and they’ve both been terrific: enthusiastic, knowledgeable, professional, and patient. They’ve been great about building a curriculum on the fly around his interests and keeping him engaged and learning. Highly recommended.

Father of 7th grade boy in Santa Clara

My son was interested in coding from a very young age. We have tons of books at home, however, only starting with Breakout Mentors actually helped my son to build on his interest and develop some skills. The lessons are fun and introduce serious programming concepts in a way kids can grasp. My son started with programming games in Scratch. Moving from little projects to bigger and more complex ones, he has learned the basics of programming and now is moving to Java. He shows me his work after each lesson since he is very proud of his accomplishments and can’t wait to show them off.